Coated conduit outlet fitting and method and apparatus for forming a coated conduit outlet fitting

ABSTRACT

A method of coating a conduit outlet fitting is disclosed. In the method, a tooling plate is positioned between a cover and a body of the conduit outlet fitting. The tooling plate has a hanger tooling block and a plug tooling block affixed thereto and positioned inside the body when the tooling plate is positioned between the body and the cover. A hanger is passed through a conduit opening and attached to the hanger tooling block. A plug is passed through another conduit opening and attached to the plug tooling block. The hanger and the plug each have a cap disposed thereon for covering an external end of their respective conduit openings. The assembled structure is suspended from the hanger and dipped into a liquid protective coating material to form an external coating thereon. The cover, the body and the tooling plate cooperate to form complementary male and female seals on the cover and the body. The dip coated structure is removed from the coating material and cured. The coating material around the tooling plate and beyond the caps on the hanger and plug are removed and the dip coated cover is removed from the body, and the tooling plate, hanger, plug and tooling blocks are removed from the dip coated body.

This is a divisional of application(s) Ser. No. 08/330,718 filed on Oct.28, 1994 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,189.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to conduit outlet fittings for electricalconnections or the like and, more particularly, to a conduit outletfitting coated with one or more protective materials.

2. Description of the Prior Art

The use of conduit outlet fittings, also known as junction boxes, formaking electrical connections or the like is well known. A conduitoutlet fitting typically has a hollow, open-topped base or body with oneor more conduit openings therethrough. The conduit openings aretypically internally threaded. Various electrical conduits are connectedto the body and appropriate electrical connections between theconductors carried in the conduit are made within the interior of thebody. The open top of the body is then closed by a complementary lid orcover secured thereto to enclose the electrical connections therein andprevent the connections from being contacted or damaged. Examples ofprior art conduit outlet fittings are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat.Nos. 1,706,811; 2,800,247; 3,394,509; 3,430,799; 3,910,448; 4,699,293;4,896,784 and 5,147,980.

In some environments, particularly in combustible, corrosive or otherhazardous environments, it is advantageous to provide a protectivecoating on at least all exterior surfaces of metal, typically galvanizedsteel or aluminum, conduit outlet fittings and all conduit attachedthereto. The protective coating can be polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or otherpolymeric materials. Prior art patents in this area include U.S. Pat.Nos. 3,724,706 and 3,434,900. Robroy Industries, Inc., the assignee ofthe present application, markets a line of PVC coated conduit outletfittings, conduit and related products under the PLASTI-BOND RED®trademark. PVC coated conduit outlet fittings, conduit and relatedproducts are sold by Occidental Coating Company and Ocal Inc. under thename OCAL-BLUE.

While the prior art coated outlet fittings provide good protection ofthe product in various hazardous environments, there are severalproblems with these designs which have not yet been addressed.

In the coated conduit outlet fittings sold by Robroy Industries, Inc.,as reflected in U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,706, a seal is provided between thebody and the cover attached thereto. The body has an outwardlyextending, flat seal formed in the coating material, while the cover hasa similarly shaped, outwardly extending, downwardly tapered seal formedin the coating material. While this arrangement provides for an adequateseal or joint between the cover and the body, and a protective seal forthe interior of the body, this seal design has a drawback in that undercertain circumstances corrosive or other materials can travel past theseal and penetrate between the protective coating and the outer surfaceof the body or cover and cause corrosion thereof which forces theprotective coating to separate from the underlying metal product. Inaddition, the taper of the cover seal exerts an outward force on thebody seal which tends to push the body seal and coating away from thebody. While the OCAL-BLUE conduit outlet fitting has a flat seal whichextends partially over the body and cover and provides some additionalprotection for the exterior surfaces beneath the protective coating, itis difficult to consistently manufacture complementary seals on the bodyand cover to provide a tight seal over the entire periphery of the opentop of the body. In addition, it is difficult to properly install andalign the coated cover onto the coated body of the OCAL-BLUE product.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a coatedconduit outlet fitting which minimizes or prevents corrosion between thecoating and the underlying metal material. In addition, it is an objectof the present invention to provide a coated conduit outlet fitting witha significantly improved seal between the cover and the body. It is afurther object of the present invention to provide an improved seal fora coated conduit outlet fitting which also allows the cover to bereadily positioned and aligned onto the body so that the cover can bequickly and securely connected to the body.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

My invention relates to a coated conduit outlet fitting which includes ahollow body having an open top, a body flange extending along an upperperipheral edge of the body and around the open top, and at least oneconduit opening extending through the body and into an interior thereof.A cover conformed substantially to the open top of the body isconfigured to be attached to the body and close the body interior. Thecover has a cover flange extending along an outer peripheral edge of thecover and configured to abut the body flange. A protective coating isadhered to an exterior surface of the cover and the body. The protectivecoating on the body is formed into an upwardly oriented body seal whichextends at least partially over and is adhered to the body flange. Theprotective coating on the cover is formed into a downwardly orientedcover seal which extends at least partially over and is adhered to thecover flange. One of the body seal and the cover seal is shaped as amale seal and the other of the body seal and the cover seal is shaped asa female seal. The male seal and female seal are complementary to eachother and mating in configuration. The cover seal engages the body sealwhen the cover is positioned on the body and covers the open top. Afastening means is provided for fastening the cover to the body with thecover seal and the body seal in engagement with each other.

The body seal and cover seal can be formed in a tongue and groove ormale and female seal arrangement, such as an inverted V-shaped tongueand groove seal. Preferably, the body seal is formed as an invertedV-shaped tongue seal and the cover seal is formed as an invertedV-shaped groove seal. The body seal preferably has a portion thatextends outwardly beyond the upper peripheral edge of the body and thecover seal has a portion that extends outwardly beyond the outerperipheral edge of the cover.

Each conduit opening preferably extends through an associated conduithub extending outwardly from and attached to the body. The protectivecoating is adhered to an exterior surface of each conduit hub andextends beyond an outer end thereof to form a sealing sleevesubstantially parallel to and axially aligned with a conduit openingtherein. The conduit openings are typically internally threaded along atleast a portion of their length. At least one threaded fastener canextend through an associated fastener hole in the cover and into analigned hole in the body. The protective coating on the cover can extendinto and cover at least a portion of the internal surface of eachfastener hole and hold a threaded fastener to the fastener hole when thecover is separated from the body. The protective coating can be formedof a polymeric material, such as polyvinyl chloride.

I have also developed an apparatus for forming a coated conduit outletfitting with a male seal and a female seal attached thereto in an areawhere the cover is affixed to the body. The apparatus includes a toolingplate having the same general outer configuration as an outer peripheraledge of the cover and an upper peripheral edge of the body andpositionable between and in contact with the cover and the body. Thetooling plate has a first mold formed in a bottom surface thereof andextending along an outer peripheral edge thereof. The tooling plate alsohas a second mold formed in the top surface thereof and extending alongits outer peripheral edge. The first mold is configured to form one of amale seal and a female seal on the upper peripheral edge of the body.The second mold is configured to form the other of a male seal and afemale seal on the outer peripheral edge of the cover. The male seal andfemale seal are complementary to each other and mating in configuration.The apparatus also includes a hanger tooling block affixed to the bottomsurface of the tooling plate inward of the first mold and having ahanger attachment means therein. A hanger is configured to pass througha conduit opening through the body and be attached to the hangerattachment means. The hanger carries a cap means for covering anexternal end of the conduit opening through which the hanger passes. Thehanger tooling block is configured to fit within the interior of thebody and is positioned on the tooling plate to be aligned with theconduit opening when the tooling plate is positioned against the bodyand covers the open top thereof. The tooling plate also includes coverattachment means permitting the cover to be attached to the body with atooling plate positioned therebetween and in contact with the cover andthe body, with the first mold aligned with the upper peripheral edge ofthe body and with the second mold aligned with the outer peripheral edgeof the cover.

In a preferred embodiment, the tooling also includes at least one plugtooling block affixed to the bottom surface of the tooling plate inwardof the first mold and spaced from the hanger tooling block and having aplug attachment means therein. A plug is configured to pass throughanother conduit opening through the body and be attached to the plugattachment means. The plug also carries a cap means for covering anexternal end of the conduit opening through which the plug passes. Theplug tooling block is configured to fit within the interior of the bodyand the hanger tooling block and the plug tooling block are positionedon the tooling plate to be aligned with an associated conduit openingwhen the tooling plate is positioned against the body and covering itsopen top.

The first mold is preferably configured to form a tongue seal, such asan inverted V-shaped tongue seal, and the second mold is preferablyconfigured to form a groove seal, such as an inverted V-shaped grooveseal.

It is preferred that the tooling plate include a top tooling plate, amiddle tooling plate and a bottom tooling plate stacked together andcontacting each other. The top tooling plate and bottom tooling plateare each smaller than and fit within the middle tooling plate. The firstmold is formed by an outer first mold portion on the lower surface ofthe middle tooling plate adjacent its outer peripheral edge and an innerfirst mold portion along an outer peripheral edge of the bottom toolingplate. The second mold is formed by an outer second mold portion on theupper surface of the middle tooling plate adjacent its outer peripheraledge and an inner second mold portion along an outer peripheral edge ofthe top tooling plate. The outer first mold portion can be an outwardlyand downwardly angled surface of the middle tooling plate and the innerfirst mold portion can be an inwardly and downwardly angled surface ofthe bottom tooling plate. The outer and inner first mold portionstogether are configured to form an inverted V-shaped tongue seal. Theouter second mold portion can be an inwardly oriented, inverted V-shapedprojection of the middle tooling plate and the inner second mold portioncan be a vertical outer surface of the top tooling plate, with the outerand inner second mold portions together configured to form an invertedV-shaped groove seal.

The tooling plates, at least adjacent the outer peripheral edges of thetop tooling plate and bottom tooling plate, are preferably spaced apartfrom each other to form at least one air gap therebetween. The spacingbetween the top and middle tooling plates and the spacing between themiddle and bottom tooling plates is preferably in the range of 0.005" to0.009". The spacing can be formed by at least one raised area extendingupwardly from an upper surface of the middle tooling plate in an areathereof spaced inwardly from the outer second mold portion and by atleast one raised area extending downwardly from a lower surface of themiddle tooling plate in an area thereof spaced inwardly from the outerfirst mold portion.

The hanger can include an air bleed hole in fluid communication with theinterior of the body. The tooling plate can include an air hole in fluidcommunication with the interior of the body and in fluid communicationwith the spacing between the tooling plates. The cap means on the hangerand plug can be a cylindrical member carried and positioned thereon tobe located adjacent and covering the external end of an associatedconduit opening and extending outwardly therefrom when the hanger andplug are attached to the hanger tooling block and plug tooling block,respectively. The inner end of each cylindrical sleeve adjacent theconduit opening can have a beveled outer peripheral edge. In addition,the cylindrical members can be loosely carried on each of the hanger andplug.

I have also developed a method of manufacturing a coated conduit outletfitting with male and female seals and utilizing the tooling describedabove. The tooling plate/hanger blocks assembly is positioned on thebody with the tooling plate contacting and covering the open top of thebody and with the hanger blocks within the body interior and alignedwith an associated conduit opening. A hanger and a plug pass through aconduit opening and are connected to a hanger tooling block or plugtooling block, respectively, with the cap means on each covering theexternal end of a conduit opening. The cover is then attached to thebody, with the tooling plate sandwiched therebetween. The assembledstructure is handled by the hanger and dipped into a liquid protectivecoating material to form a coating thereon and to form the male andfemale seals. The coated assembly is removed from the liquid materialand the coating and seals are cured. Thereafter, excess coating materialis removed, the cover is separated from the body and the variouselements of the tooling are removed from the body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a prior art, uncoated conduitoutlet fitting including a body and a cover;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the conduit outlet fittingshown in FIG. 1 coated in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective section taken along lines III--III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a section taken along lines IV--IV in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a section similar to FIG. 4, but with the cover secured to thebody;

FIG. 6 is a section taken along lines VI--VI in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6A is an enlarged sectional view of the circled area in FIG. 6;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view, partially cut away, of thetooling used to make the coated conduit outlet fitting shown in FIGS.2-6 and being inserted into the uncoated conduit outlet fitting shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal section taken through the uncoated conduitoutlet fitting shown in FIG. 7 with the tooling in an assembledconfiguration;

FIG. 9 is an exploded transverse section taken through the assemblyshown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a transverse section, similar to FIG. 9, taken through theassembly shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the tooling shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 12 is a side view of another configuration of the tooling shown inFIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a side view of a hanger included in the tooling shown inFIGS. 7-12;

FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the hanger shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a side view of a plug included in the tooling shown in FIGS.7-12;

FIG. 16 is a top view of a top tooling plate included in the toolingshown in FIGS. 7-12;

FIG. 17 is a section taken along lines XVII--XVII in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a top view of a middle tooling plate included in the toolingshown in FIGS. 7-12;

FIG. 19 is a section taken along lines XIX--XIX in FIG. 18;

FIG. 20 is a section taken along lines XX--XX in FIG. 18;

FIG. 21 is a top view of a bottom tooling plate included in the toolingshown in FIGS. 7-12;

FIG. 22 is a section taken along lines XXI--XXI in FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a longitudinal section showing the assembled tooling andconduit outlet fitting of FIGS. 7 and 8 after coating;

FIG. 23A is an enlarged sectional view of the circled area of FIG. 23;and

FIG. 24 is a section taken along lines XXIV--XXIV in FIG. 23.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

One example of a known conduit outlet fitting, which can be coated inaccordance with the present invention, is shown in FIG. 1. The outletfitting includes a hollow body 2 having an open top 4 and a body flange6 extending inwardly along an upper peripheral edge 8 of the body 2 andaround the open top 4. In this example the body 2 is shown as an oblong,box-like shape, but other configurations are used as is well known. Theoutlet fitting also includes a cover 12 which conforms substantially tothe open top 4 of the body 2 and is configured to be attached to thebody 2 and enclose the interior 14 of the body 2. The cover 12 has acover flange 16 extending along an outer peripheral edge 18 of the cover12 and configured to abut and sit securely on the body flange 6.Mounting screws 20 or other fasteners pass through associated fastenerholes 22 in the cover 12 and into threaded holes 24 cut at opposite andwidened ends 26 and 28 of the body flange 6. The body 2 shown in FIG. 1has two cylindrical, elongated, internally threaded, conduit couplingmembers, also referred to as conduit hubs 30 and 32, which carry thereinconduit openings 34 and 36 to the interior 14 of the body 2. The conduitopenings 34 and 36 are configured to threadably receive electricalconductor-carrying conduit pipe for bringing the conductors into theinterior 14 of the body 2. Conduit opening 36 is not visible in FIG. 1,but is shown clearly in later figures. The conduit openings 34 and 36are shown as internally threaded for at least a portion of their length,which is typical, but other arrangements are also known. Although theconduit openings 34 and 36 could be cut and threaded directly throughthe body 2, the use of such elongated hubs is common and providesadditional strength to the final structure. While the conduit hubs 30and 32 can be provided at any location on the body 2, including each ofthe opposed ends 38 and 40, opposed sides 42 and 44, and bottom 46, inthe configuration shown in FIG. 1, conduit hub 30, carrying conduitopening 34, is provided at end 38 of the body 2, while conduit hub 32carrying conduit opening 36 is provided on the bottom 46 of the body 2,spaced from conduit hub 30 and positioned adjacent end 40 of the body 2.The arrangement shown in FIG. 1 is referred to in the trade as the "LB"type conduit fitting. The body 2 and cover 12 of the conduit outletfitting are commonly made of cast iron and electrogalvanized.

The conduit outlet fitting of FIG. 1, which has been coated inaccordance with the present invention, is shown in FIGS. 2-6. Aprotective coating 50 is provided on and adhered to all of the exteriorsurfaces of the body 2 and cover 12, including conduit hub 30 andconduit hub 32. The coating 50 is made from a moldable, corrosionresistant polymeric material. The coating is preferably a flexible,durable, chemical resistant, impact resistant polymer such as polyvinylchloride (PVC). Impact resistant nylon, polypropylene, polyurethane orpolyethylene can also be used for the coating 50, although PVC ispreferred. The coating 50 can be on the order of 0.040" thick on theexterior surfaces of the body 2, cover 12 and conduit hubs 30 and 32,other than as discussed below. The coating 50 is formed into sealingsleeves 52 and 54 which extend beyond the outer ends 56 and 58 of theconduit openings 34 and 36 in the conduit hubs 30 and 32, respectively,and form corrosion resistant and sealing sleeves for a conduit threadedinto the conduit hubs 30 and 32. The sealing sleeves 52 and 54 aresubstantially parallel to and axially aligned with an associated conduitopening 34 and 36, respectively.

In accordance with the present invention, the coating 50 on the body 2is formed into an upwardly oriented body seal 60 which extends at leastpartially over and is adhered to the body flange 6. Similarly, thecoating 50 on the cover 12 is formed into a downwardly oriented coverseal 62 which extends at least partially over and is adhered to thecover flange 16. In general, one of the body seal 60 and the cover seal62 is shaped as a male seal and the other of the body seal 60 and coverseal 62 is shaped as a female seal. The body seal 60 and the cover seal62 are complementary to each other and mating in configuration. In thismanner, the cover seal 62 can engage the body seal 60 when the cover 12is positioned on the body 2 and covers the open top 4 of the body 2.

In a preferred arrangement, the body seal 60 and the cover seal 62 areformed in a tongue and groove seal arrangement, most preferably in aninverted V-shaped tongue and groove seal arrangement, with the tongueseal provided as the body seal 60 and the groove seal provided as thelid cover seal 62. As shown more clearly in FIGS. 4-6, the body seal 60is formed as an inverted V-shaped tongue member which extends inwardlyat least partially over the body flange 6 and with a portion extendingoutwardly beyond the upper peripheral edge 8 of the body 2. In addition,the body seal 60 extends upwardly above the surface of the body flange 6to a sufficient height. Similarly, the cover seal 62 is formed as aninverted V-shaped groove member which extends inwardly at leastpartially over the cover flange 16 and with a portion extendingoutwardly beyond the outer peripheral edge 18 of the cover 12. The coverseal 62 extends downwardly below the surface of the cover flange 16 fora sufficient height. The height of the tongue of the body seal 60 andcorresponding depth of the groove of the cover seal 62 should besufficient to provide enough compression between the seals 60 and 62when the cover 12 is positioned on the body 2 and provide a liquid andairtight seal for the interior 14 of the body 2. Through this matingtongue and groove seal arrangement, the cover 12 can be precisely andreadily positioned on the body 2 with the fastener holes 22 in the cover12 aligned with the threaded holes 24 in the body 2. It is common to usethe encapsulated screws 64 shown in FIGS. 2-6 to attach a coated cover12 to a coated body 2 of a coated conduit outlet fitting.

As shown in FIG. 6, and more particularly in FIG. 6A, the lower end ofeach fastener hole 22 in the cover 12 can be provided with a wider,flared area 66. In the embodiment shown therein, the coating 50 on thecover 12 extends into flared area 66 and extends slightly downwardtherefrom. In addition, the coating 50 extends at least partially alongthe fastener holes 22 in the cover 12 as shown. This presence of thecoating 50 in flared areas 66 and fastener holes 22 functions to retainthe threaded screws 20 or encapsulated screws 64 in the fastener holes22 and to the cover 12 when the cover 12 is separated from the body 2and minimizes the chance of the threaded screws 20 or encapsulatedscrews 20 becoming lost or separated therefrom.

One embodiment of a tooling which is suitable for manufacturing thecoated conduit outlet fitting with the male and female or tongue andgroove seal discussed above is shown in FIGS. 7-24. FIGS. 7 and 8 showthe relationship of the tooling to the uncoated conduit outlet fitting.FIGS. 9-22 show the various elements of the tooling per se. FIGS. 23-24show the relationship of the tooling to an initially coated anduntrimmed conduit outlet fitting.

Referring initially to FIGS. 7-11, the tooling includes a tooling plate70 having the same general outer configuration as the outer peripheraledge 18 of the cover 12 and the upper peripheral edge 8 of the body 2,but slightly larger in dimension. The tooling plate 70 is preferablyformed from a top tooling plate 72, a middle tooling plate 74 and abottom tooling plate 76 which are stacked on and in contact with eachother. The top tooling plate 72 and bottom tooling plate 76 are slightlysmaller than and fit within the wider middle tooling plate 74. Thetooling plates are stacked with the bottom surface of the top toolingplate 72 in contact with the top surface of the middle tooling plate 74and with the top surface of the bottom tooling plate 76 in contact withthe bottom surface of the middle tooling plate 74.

A hanger tooling block 78 is affixed to the bottom surface of thetooling plate 70, i.e., the bottom surface of the bottom tooling plate76, and has a hanger attachment means, such as threaded hole 80,therein. A plug tooling block 82, spaced from the hanger tooling block78, is affixed to the bottom surface of the tooling plate 70. Similarly,the plug tooling block 82 has a plug attachment means, such as a pair ofhorizontal threaded holes 84 and 86, arranged at about 90° to eachother, and a vertical threaded hole 88 extending axially therein. A pairof mounting screws 90 pass through holes 92A, 92B and 92C in the toptooling plate 72, middle tooling plate 74 and bottom tooling plate 76,respectively, and into threaded mounting holes 94 in the top of thehanger tooling block 78. Similarly, a pair of mounting screws 96 passthrough holes 98A, 98B and 98C in the top tooling plate 72, middletooling plate 74 and bottom tooling plate 76, respectively, and intothreaded mounting holes 100 in the top of the plug tooling block 82.Additional sets of holes, such as holes 102A, 102B and 102C as shown,can be provided in the tooling plate 70 if it is desired to attach anadditional plug tooling block 82 to the tooling plate 70 or to move thehanger tooling block 78 to other locations on the tooling plate 70. Theupper ends of holes 92A, 98A and 102A at the upper surface of the toptooling plate 72 can be countersunk to accept the heads of screwspassing therethrough and provide a flush upper surface to the toptooling plate 72.

As shown more particularly in FIGS. 7 and 8, the tooling plate 70 ispositioned above the open top 4 of the body 2, with its lower surface incontact with the body 2 and with the plug tooling block 82 and hangertooling block 78 both positioned within the interior 14 of the body 2.The hanger tooling block 78 is aligned with conduit opening 34 andconduit hub 30 in the body 2, while the plug tooling block 82 is alignedwith conduit opening 36 and conduit hub 32 in the body 2. The cover 12is positioned above and in contact with the upper surface of the toolingplate 70. Screws 20 pass through the fastener holes 22 in the cover 12,through aligned holes 104A, 104B and 104C in the top tooling plate 72,middle tooling plate 74 and bottom tooling plate 76, respectively, andinto threaded holes 24 in the body flange 6 of the body 2. In thismanner, the tooling plate 70 is securely attached to the body 2 andsandwiched between the body 2 and the cover 12.

A hanger 106 having interior threaded end 108 and nut 110 on an exteriorend is passed through conduit opening 34 and hub 30 and is threaded intohole 80 in the hanger tooling block 78 and attached thereto. Similarly,a plug 112 having interior threaded end 114 and nut 116 on an exteriorend is passed through conduit opening 36 and hub 32 and is threaded intohole 88 in the plug tooling block 82 and attached thereto. The hanger106 carries a cap means, here cylindrical sleeve 118, for covering theouter end 56 of conduit opening 34. Similarly, the plug 112 has acylindrical sleeve 120 thereon for covering the outer end 58 of conduitopening 36. An air bleed hole 122 extends axially through the entirelength of the hanger 106, from threaded end 108 to nut 110. An air bleedhole is specifically not included in the plug 112.

An important feature of the tooling plate 70 of the present invention isthat molds are formed along its outer peripheral edge to form the maleand female or tongue and groove seals discussed above as the body seal60 and cover seal 62. Referring particularly to FIGS. 9 and 10, thetooling plate 70 has a first mold 124 formed in a bottom surface thereofand extending along its outer peripheral edge 126. In addition, thetooling plate 70 has a second mold 128 formed in a top surface thereofand extending along its outer peripheral edge 126. Although either ofthe first mold 124 and second mold 128 can be configured in the male orfemale, or tongue or groove, configurations, the preferred arrangementincludes the first mold 124 formed in the shape of the male or tongueconfiguration, and the second mold 128 formed in the shape of the femaleor groove configuration. It is preferred that the first mold 124 andsecond mold 128 form an inverted V-shaped tongue and grooveconfiguration discussed above. The hanger tooling block 78 and plugtooling block 82 are preferably attached to the tooling plate 70inwardly of the first mold 124 so as to not interfere with its function.

While the first mold 124 and second mold 128 could be formed in a solid,one-piece tooling plate 70, the use of separate and stacked top toolingplate 72, middle tooling plate 74 and bottom tooling plate 76 to formthe tooling plate 70 is preferred not only for manufacturingconvenience, but also for certain advantages in the molding processitself. The middle tooling plate 74 has a central region 130 with flatupper and lower surfaces. An outer mold portion of the first mold 124 isprovided by an outwardly and downwardly angled surface 132 of the middletooling plate 74 on its lower surface adjacent its outer peripheraledge. Similarly, an outer mold portion of the second mold 128 isprovided by an upwardly oriented, inverted V-shaped projection 134 ofthe middle tooling plate 74 on its upper surface and adjacent its outerperipheral edge. The bottom tooling plate 76 has substantially flatupper and lower surfaces. An inner mold portion of the first mold 124 isprovided by an inwardly and downwardly angled surface 136 on the outerperipheral edge of the bottom tooling plate 76. When the bottom toolingplate 76 is positioned immediately adjacent the middle tooling plate 74,the first outer mold portion 132 and the first inner mold portion 136are aligned with each other to form the inverted V-shaped first mold 124of the tooling plate 70, which forms the tongue shaped body seal 60. Theslope and height of the angled surface 132 on the middle tooling plate74 are similar to the height and slope of the angled surface 136 on thebottom tooling plate 76, although they are mirror images of each other.The top tooling plate 72 has substantially flat upper and lower surfacesand a substantially vertical and flat outer peripheral edge. The outerperipheral edge of the top tooling plate 72 forms an inner second moldportion 138. When the top tooling plate 72 is positioned immediatelyadjacent the middle tooling plate 74, the second outer mold portion 134and the second inner mold portion 138 are aligned with each other toform the inverted V-shaped second mold 128 of the tooling plate 70,which forms the groove shaped cover seal 62.

The thickness of the top tooling plate 72, i.e., the height of the outerperipheral edge or inner second mold portion 138, is higher than thepeak of the outer second mold portion 134 along the outer peripheraledge 126 of the middle tooling plate 74. This difference in height isnecessary to provide space above the peak of the outer second moldportion 134 so that sufficient coating material can be included in thecover seal 62 for strength and durability, and to make both sides of theinverted V-shaped groove portion of the cover seal 62 integral andstrongly attached to each other.

FIG. 12 shows alternate arrangements which can be provided using thetooling discussed above. Similar to the arrangement shown in FIGS. 7-11,the tooling plate 70 includes a hanger tooling block 78 attached at oneend and a hanger 106 attached thereto by hole 80. Plug tooling block 82is attached to the tooling plate 70 at an end thereof opposite to thehanger tooling block 78. An additional plug tooling block 82A isattached to the tooling plate 70 at a bottom surface thereof using holes102 which had not been used in the FIGS. 7-11 arrangement. Plug toolingblock 82A is oriented 90° from the orientation of plug tooling block 82.Plug 112 is attached to plug tooling block 82 at horizontal hole 86 andplug 112A is attached to plug tooling block 82A at vertical hole 88A.FIG. 12 shows how plugs 112 and 112A can be attached to an associatedplug tooling block 112 and 112A at various orientations. The precisearrangement utilized will be dictated by the nature of the configurationof the conduit outlet fitting which is being coated using the tooling ofthe present invention. FIG. 12 is intended to show the versatility ofthe basic structure of the tooling shown in FIGS. 7-11. In addition,FIG. 12 shows how the physical appearance of the hanger 106 and hangertooling block 78 are quite distinct from the physical appearance of theplug 112 and plug tooling block 82. In order to make sure that workersassembling the tooling to the conduit fitting use one hanger 106 for oneof the conduit outlets, and use a plug 112 for the remaining conduitoutlets, the various elements are physically distinct from one another.The hanger 106 is significantly longer than the shorter plug 112. Thehanger tooling block 78 is more flat in appearance than the mostly roundplug tooling block 82. Although the plug 112 and hanger 106 function inthe same manner to close off the conduit outlets and provide a means forforming sealing sleeves around the conduit outlets, it is necessary touse only one hanger 106 in the manufacturing process. These visualdifferences will help to insure that this goal is accomplished duringthe manufacturing process.

The construction of the hanger 106 and plug 112 is shown in more detailin FIGS. 13-15. The hanger 106 includes an elongated bolt having anarrow bolt portion 140 attached to a wider bolt portion 142 and forminga shoulder 144 therebetween. The narrow bolt portion 140 has threadedend 108 opposite the shoulder 144. The wider bolt portion 142 hasthreaded end 146 opposite the shoulder 144 which holds nut 116 threadedand welded thereto. The cylindrical sleeve 118 has an inner bore 148with an internal diameter larger than the outer diameter of the narrowbolt portion 140 and is carried on the narrow bolt portion 140 near theshoulder 144. Washer 150 is positioned on the narrow bolt portion 140between one end of the sleeve 118 and the shoulder 144 and washer 152 ispositioned on the narrow bolt portion 140 on the opposite end of thesleeve 118. The washers 150 and 152 have an internal bore slightlylarger than the outer diameter of the narrow bolt portion 140 andsmaller than the outer diameter of the wider bolt portion 142. Aretaining ring 154 is snapped into a retaining ring groove 156 in thenarrow bolt portion 140 and holds the sleeve 118 and washers 150, 152securely thereon. The peripheral edge 158 of the sleeve 118 adjacent theretaining ring 154 and toward threaded end 114 is inwardly beveled. Bythis arrangement, the sleeve 118 is securely held in place on the hanger106, but the sleeve 118 can move laterally somewhat about the narrowbolt portion 140 from the spacing therebetween due to the differencebetween the outer diameter of the narrow bolt portion 140 and the innerdiameter of the inner bore 148 through the sleeve 118. This arrangementpermits the sleeve 118 to move about and always be securely positionedwith the beveled edge 158 tightly adjacent and contacting an outerthread of a threaded conduit opening through the body 2. Thisarrangement is a distinct improvement over prior art arrangements whichthreaded a hanger directly into the conduit opening, with damage to thethreads or any protective coating thereon. It also eliminates the needfor inspection and touch-up of thread coat damage. By the arrangement ofthe present invention, the threads of the conduit openings are nevercontacted because the narrow bolt portion 140 of the hanger 106 passesthrough a threaded opening and is spaced therefrom. The only contactbetween the conduit opening and the hanger 106 is where the beveled edge158 of sleeve 118 contacts an outermost thread and closes the conduitopening. This feature is shown in FIGS. 8 and 23.

Similar to the hanger 106, the plug 112 includes a narrow bolt portion160 having threaded end 114, a wider bolt portion 162 having nut 116attached thereto, washers 164 and 166, sleeve 120 with beveled edge 168,and retaining ring 170. One significant difference between the hanger106 and the plug 112 is that the length of the wider bolt portion issignificantly shorter in the plug 112 than in the hanger 106. That isbecause the plug 112 need only close off a conduit opening while thehanger 106 is used both to close off a conduit opening and hang anassembled tooling/conduit outlet fitting for coating. In addition, thehanger 106 has an air bleed hole extending axially through the narrowbolt portion 140 and wider bolt portion 142 while the plug 112 has nosuch air bleed hole.

The top tooling plate 72, middle tooling plate 74 and bottom toolingplate 76 are shown in more detail in FIGS. 16-22. Many of the featuresof the tooling plates were discussed above and will not be repeatedhere. The top surface of the top tooling plate 72 has a recess 172therein surrounding the upper end of each of holes 104A therein andextending inwardly from and in fluid communication with the second innermold portion 138 defined by the outer peripheral edge of the top toolingplate 72. A pair of aligned bores 174A, 174B and 174C are providedthrough the top tooling plate 72, middle tooling plate 74 and bottomtooling plate 76, respectively. Bores 174 help to reduce the physicalmass of the tooling plate 70, which would tend to increase the heatneeded in a curing process for the coated product, and also provide ameans for easily handling the assembled tooling of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 19 and 20 show more clearly the relationship of the middle toolingplate 74 to the top tooling plate 72 and bottom tooling plate 76 informing the first mold 124 and second mold 128 in the tooling plate 70.In addition, FIGS. 18-20 show thin raised areas 176 provided on theupper surface of the middle tooling plate 74 in the central region 130where the top tooling plate 72 contacts the middle tooling plate 74.FIGS. 19 and 20 show thin raised areas 178 provided on the lower surfaceof the middle tooling plate 74 in the central region 130 where thebottom tooling plate 76 contacts the middle tooling plate 74. Raisedareas 176 and 178 are spaced inwardly from the outer peripheral edges ofthe top tooling plate 72 and bottom tooling plate 76 and extendsubstantially laterally along the length thereof. The raised areas 176and 178 are provided in a height of between 0.005" and 0.009",preferably about 0.007". The raised areas 176 and 178 provide an airspacing between the top tooling plate 72 and middle tooling plate 74,and between the middle tooling plate 74 and bottom tooling plate 76which is in fluid communication with the adjacent second mold 128 andfirst mold 124, respectively. The air spacings are also in fluidcommunication with bores 174. The spacing is small enough to prevent theliquid coating material from flowing therein and forming a flash, yetlarge enough to allow air flows therein. When the assembled structureshown in FIG. 8 is dipped into the liquid coating material, any excessair contained in the areas of the first mold 124 or second mold 128 willbe forced into the spacing within the tooling plate 70 and eitherexpelled directly therefrom or pass through bores 174 in the toolingplate 70, into the interior 14 of the body 2, and out through the airbleed hole 122 in the hanger 106. The heated and expanding air in theinterior 14 of the body is also expelled through the air bleed hole 122in the hanger 106. In this manner, a molded seal can be formed withoutair pockets or other deformities and provide a much better product.

A method of manufacturing the coated conduit outlet of the presentinvention is shown with reference to FIGS. 23-24 as well as to theremaining figures. The body 2 and cover 12 are cleaned and primed. Thetooling plate 70, tooling blocks 78 and 82, hanger 106 and plug 112 areassembled and positioned in the body 2 and the cover 12 is attachedthereto as discussed above and as shown in final form in FIG. 8.Thereafter, the assembled configuration is dipped into a vat of hot,liquid coating material by use of the hanger 106. The coating materialforms an even coating on the entire outer surface of the cover 12, body2 and plug 112 and on only that portion of the hanger 106 actuallydipped into the coating material. The coating material flows into thefirst mold 124 and second mold 128 defined by the tooling plate 70 andits relationship with the body 2 and cover 12. In addition, the coatingmaterial flows into the recess 172 in the top tooling plate 72 and intofastener hole 22 for its entire length in the cover 12 and into hole104A for a portion of its length in the top tooling plate 72. This isshown in more detail in FIG. 23A. The coated product is then withdrawnfrom the vat of coating material and passed through a curing oven. Afterthe coated product is cured and cooled, it has the configuration shownin FIGS. 23 and 24. To form the final product shown in FIGS. 2-6, theexcess coating material is trimmed from around the heads of screws 20,the outer peripheral edge 126 of the tooling plate 70 and the outerperipheral edge of sleeves 118 and 120, as indicated in FIGS. 23 and 24.The screws 20 are removed and the coated cover 12 is removed from thetooling plate 70 and the body 2, the hanger 106 and plug 112 are removedfrom their associated hanger tooling block 78 and plug tooling block 82and from the body 2, and the assembly of the tooling plate 70 and hangerblocks 78 and 82 is removed from the body 2. The coating material whichflowed into hole 104A is removed below the area defined by recess 172.Although additional rough edges of the trimmed product can thereafter besmoothed out to provide a better looking final appearance, the productat this stage essentially looks like that shown in FIGS. 2-6.

The coated conduit outlet fitting of the present invention has severaladvantages over prior art arrangements. The body seal 60 and cover seal62 provide a good, tight seal when the cover 12 is attached to the body2. The coating 50 does not peel away from the body 2 or cover 12 becauseof the compressive seal and because the body seal 60 and cover seal 62overlap their respective body flange 6 and cover flange 16. The invertedV-shaped tongue and groove seals permit the cover 12 to be quickly andprecisely affixed to the body 2 with the seals 60 and 62 in properalignment and with the fastener holes 22 in the cover 12 in properalignment with the threaded holes 24 in the body 2. The height of theseal, i.e., the area between the body 2 and cover 12 taken by the bodyseal 60 and cover seal 62, adds more interior wiring space in theconduit outlet fitting. The flexible nature of the seal, as determinedby the coating material utilized, will form a compression seal whichprovides a tight attachment between the cover 12 and body 2 without theneed for high torque on the encapsulated screws 64 or other fastenersattaching the cover 12 to the body 2. Hand tightening of such fastenersis often sufficient. The tooling of the present invention provides amechanism for readily manufacturing the coated conduit outlet fittingwith the body seal 60 and cover seal 62. The tooling can be easily usedon a variety of shapes and configurations of outlet fittings withstandard and interchangeable tooling parts. The tooling readily lendsitself to mass manufacturing of the product in large or batchquantities.

Having described above the presently preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, it is to be understood that the invention may beotherwise embodied within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A method of forming a coating on a conduit outlet fitting,the fitting including a cover which is affixed to a hollow body andcovers an open top of the hollow body, and the coating including a maleseal and a female seal between the hollow body and the cover, the methodcomprising the steps of:a) providing a tooling plate having a bottomsurface, a top surface, a first mold extending around a peripheral edgeof the bottom surface and a second mold extending around a peripheraledge of the top surface; b) positioning the tooling plate on the hollowbody so that the bottom surface of the tooling plate abuts the hollowbody around the open top; c) positioning the cover on the tooling plateso that the cover abuts the top surface of the tooling plate; d)securing the cover, the tooling plate and the hollow body together toform an assembled structure; e) dipping the assembled structure into aliquid protective coating material; f) removing the dip-coated structurefrom the coating material; g) curing the coating; h) removing thecoating material between the peripheral edge of the bottom surface ofthe tooling plate and the peripheral edge of the top surface of thetooling plate; and i) separating the dip-coated cover, the tooling plateand the dip-coated hollow body, wherein:the coating material received inthe first mold forms one of the male seal and the female seal; thecoating material received in the second mold forms the other of the maleseal and the female seal; and the male seal and the female seal arepositioned complimentary to each other and in mating configuration. 2.The method as set forth in claim 1, further including the stepsof:affixing to the bottom surface of the tooling plate a hanger toolingblock and a plug tooling block; positioning the hanger tooling block andthe plug tooling block in the hollow body when the tooling plate ispositioned on the hollow body; inserting a hanger having a hanger capthereon through a first conduit opening in the hollow body; securing thehanger to the hanger tooling block with the hanger cap covering anexternal end of the first conduit opening; inserting a plug having aplug cap thereon through a second conduit opening in the hollow body;and securing the plug to the plug tooling block with the plug capcovering an external end of the second conduit opening.
 3. The method asset forth in claim 2, further including the steps of:removing from thedip-coated hollow body the hanger, the hanger cap, the plug and the plugcap; and separating the hanger tooling block and the plug tooling blockfrom the tooling plate.
 4. The method as set forth in claim 2, furtherincluding an air bleed hole extending lengthwise through the hanger andin fluid communication with an interior of the hollow body.
 5. Themethod as set forth in claim 1, wherein the first mold and the secondmold are configured to form an inverted V-shaped tongue seal and aninverted V-shaped groove seal, respectively.
 6. The method as set forthin claim 1, wherein the tooling plate includes a top tooling plate, amiddle tooling plate and a bottom tooling plate stacked together andcontacting each other, with the top tooling plate and the bottom toolingplate smaller than and fitting within the middle tooling plate, with thefirst mold formed by an outer first mold portion on a lower surface ofthe middle tooling plate adjacent its outer peripheral edge and an innerfirst mold portion along an outer peripheral edge of the bottom toolingplate, and with the second mold formed by an outer second mold portionon an upper surface of the middle tooling plate adjacent its outerperipheral edge and an inner second mold portion along an outerperipheral edge of the top tooling plate.
 7. The method as set forth inclaim 6, wherein:the outer first mold portion is an outwardly anddownwardly angled surface of the middle tooling plate; the inner firstmold portion is an inwardly and downwardly angled surface of the bottomtooling plate; the outer and inner first mold portions together areconfigured to form an inverted V-shaped tongue seal; the outer secondmold portion is an upwardly oriented, inverted V-shaped projection ofthe middle tooling plate; the inner second mold portion is a verticalouter surface of the top tooling plate; and the outer and inner secondmold portions together are configured to form an inverted V-shapedgroove seal.
 8. The method as set forth in claim 6, wherein the toolingplates, at least adjacent the outer peripheral edges of the top plateand the bottom plate, are spaced apart from each other to form at leastone air gap therebetween.
 9. The method as set forth in claim 8, furtherincluding an air hole extending through the tooling plate and in fluidcommunication with an interior of the hollow body, in fluidcommunication with the spacing between the top tooling plate and themiddle tooling plate, and in fluid communication with the spacingbetween the middle tooling plate and the bottom tooling plate.
 10. Amethod of using a tooling plate having a bottom surface, a top surface,a first mold extending around a peripheral edge of the bottom surfaceand a second mold extending around a peripheral edge of the top surfaceto form a male seal and a female seal between a cover and a hollow bodyof a conduit outlet fitting, with the cover affixable to the hollow bodyand covering an open top thereof, the method comprising the steps of:a)positioning the tooling plate between the hollow body and cover so thatthe bottom surface of the tooling plate abuts the hollow body around theopen top and the cover abuts the top surface of the tooling plate; b)securing the cover, the tooling plate and the hollow body together toform an assembled structure; c) dipping the assembled structure into aliquid protective coating material; d) removing the dip-coated structurefrom the coating material; e) curing the coating; f) removing thecoating material between the peripheral edge of the bottom surface ofthe tooling plate and the peripheral edge of the top surface of thetooling plate; and g) separating the dip-coated cover, the tooling plateand the dip-coated hollow body, wherein:the coating material received inthe first mold forms one of the male seal and the female seal; thecoating material received in the second mold forms the other of the maleseal and the female seal; and the male seal and the female seal arepositioned complimentary to each other and in mating configuration. 11.The method as set forth in claim 10, further including before step (c)the steps of:affixing to the bottom surface of the tooling plate ahanger tooling block and a plug tooling block; positioning the hangertooling block and the plug tooling block in the hollow body whenpositioning the tooling plate between the hollow body and the cover;inserting a hanger having a hanger cap thereon through a first conduitopening in the hollow body; securing the hanger to the hanger toolingblock with the hanger cap covering an external end of the first conduitopening; inserting a plug having a plug cap thereon through a secondconduit opening in the hollow body; and securing the plug to the plugtooling block with the plug cap covering an external end of the secondconduit opening.
 12. The method as set forth in claim 11, furtherincluding after step (e) and before step (g) the steps of:removing fromthe dip-coated hollow body the hanger, the hanger cap, the plug and theplug cap; and separating the hanger tooling block and the plug toolingblock from the tooling plate.
 13. Apparatus for forming a coated conduitoutlet fitting with a male seal and a female seal attached thereto in anarea where a cover is affixed to a hollow body and covers an open top ofsaid body, said apparatus comprising:a tooling plate having the samegeneral outer configuration as an outer peripheral edge of said coverand an upper peripheral edge of said body and positionable between andin contact with said cover and said body, with said tooling plate havinga first mold formed in a bottom surface thereof and extending along anouter peripheral edge thereof, with said tooling plate having a secondmold formed in a top surface thereof and extending along the outerperipheral edge thereof, with said first mold configured to form one ofa male seal and female seal on the upper peripheral edge of said body,with said second mold configured to form the other of a male seal andfemale seal on the outer peripheral edge of said cover, and with saidmale seal and female seal complementary to each other and mating inconfiguration, with said tooling plate including cover attachment meanspermitting said cover to be attached to said body with said toolingplate positioned therebetween and in contact with said cover and saidbody, with said first mold aligned with the upper peripheral edge ofsaid body, and with said second mold aligned with the outer peripheraledge of said cover.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said firstmold and said second mold are configured to form tongue and grooveseals.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said first mold isconfigured to form a tongue seal and said second mold is configured toform a groove seal.
 16. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said firstmold is configured to form an inverted V-shaped tongue seal and saidsecond mold is configured to form an inverted V-shaped groove seal. 17.The apparatus as set forth in claim 13, further comprising:a hangertooling block affixed to the bottom surface of said tooling plate inwardof said first mold and having a hanger attachment means therein; and ahanger configured to pass through a conduit opening through said bodyand attach to the hanger attachment means, wherein:said hanger includesa cap means for covering an external end of the conduit opening throughwhich said hanger passes; and said hanger tooling block is configured tofit within the interior of said body and is positioned on said toolingplate to be aligned with said conduit opening when said tooling plate ispositioned against said body and covering its open top.
 18. Theapparatus of claim 17 further including a plug tooling block affixed tothe bottom surface of said tooling plate inward of said first mold andspaced from said hanger tooling block and having a plug attachment meanstherein, a plug configured to pass through another conduit openingthrough said body and attach to the plug attachment means, with saidplug carrying a cap means for covering an external end of the conduitopening through which said plug passes, with said plug tooling blockconfigured to fit within the interior of said body, and with said hangertooling block and said plug tooling block positioned on said toolingplate to be aligned with an associated conduit opening when said toolingplate is positioned against said body and covering its open top.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 18 wherein the cap means on each of said hanger andsaid plug is a cylindrical member carried and positioned thereon to belocated adjacent and covering the external end of an associated conduitopening and extending outwardly therefrom when said hanger and said plugare attached to said hanger tooling block and said plug tooling block,respectively, and with an inner end of the cylindrical sleeve adjacentthe conduit opening having a beveled outer peripheral edge.
 20. Theapparatus of claim 19 wherein said cylindrical member is loosely carriedon each of said hanger and said plug.
 21. The apparatus of claim 17wherein said tooling plate includes a top tooling plate, a middletooling plate and a bottom tooling plate stacked together and contactingeach other, with said top tooling plate and bottom tooling plate smallerthan and fitting within said middle tooling plate, with said first moldformed by an outer first mold portion on a lower surface of said middletooling plate adjacent its outer peripheral edge and an inner first moldportion along an outer peripheral edge of said bottom tooling plate, andwith said second mold formed by an outer second mold portion on an uppersurface of said middle tooling plate adjacent its outer peripheral edgeand an inner second mold portion along an outer peripheral edge of saidtop tooling plate.
 22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said outerfirst mold portion is an outwardly and downwardly angled surface of saidmiddle tooling plate and said inner first mold portion is an inwardlyand downwardly angled surface of said bottom tooling plate, with saidouter and inner first mold portions together configured to form aninverted V-shaped tongue seal, and wherein said outer second moldportion is an upwardly oriented, inverted V-shaped projection of saidmiddle tooling plate and said inner second mold portion is a verticalouter surface of said top tooling plate, with said outer and innersecond mold portions together configured to form an inverted V-shapedgroove seal.
 23. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said tooling plates,at least adjacent to the outer peripheral edges of said top plate andsaid bottom plate, are spaced apart from each other to form at least oneair gap therebetween.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the spacingbetween said top and middle tooling plates and the spacing between themiddle and bottom tooling plates is each in the range of 0.005" to0.009".
 25. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein said spacing is formed byat least one raised area extending upwardly from an upper surface ofsaid middle tooling plate in an area thereof spaced inwardly from saidouter second mold portion and by at least one raised area extendingdownwardly from a lower surface of said middle tooling plate in an areathereof spaced inwardly from said outer first mold portion.
 26. Theapparatus of claim 17 further including an air bleed hole extendinglengthwise through said hanger and in fluid communication with theinterior of said body.
 27. The apparatus of claim 26 further includingan air hole extending through said tooling plate and in fluidcommunication with the interior of said body, in fluid communicationwith the spacing between said top tooling plate and said middle toolingplate, and in fluid communication with the spacing between said middletooling plate and said bottom tooling plate.